We use the nematode C. elegans, a powerful experimental model, to study the relationships between genes, neural circuits, and behavior. Much of our research focuses on sex differences, which offer striking examples of naturally occurring behavioral variation. For example, while adult hermaphrodites (the female equivalent in C. elegans) focus on feeding and food-searching, well-fed adult males will abandon a source of food to search for mates. Interestingly, the modulation of sensory function by biological sex is an important contributor to this difference. Thus, biological sex can shape an animal's view of its environment by enforcing detection of the stimuli that are most salient for its survival and reproductive fitness. 

 

By asking how biological sex tunes developmental and physiological processes in C. elegans, we aim to identify genetic and circuit mechanisms that produce adaptive plasticity in innately programmed behavior. Our findings also provide a framework for understanding how biological sex can modulate susceptibility to a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.​